Three months, 150 hours, and more than 10,000 bricks.
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That’s how Ken Draeger managed to construct a detail-perfect replica of the Spirit of Tasmania, at 100th scale.
The 1.9-metre-long replica will sail into Lego competition Brixhibition next week, showing just what can be done with some creativity, and a lot of Lego.
It helped that TT-Line were willing to provide Mr Draeger with exact plans for the Spirit once he explained what he wanted to do.
Mr Draeger’s reconstruction is precise down to the last detail, from orange rescue boats to the degree of the angle on the boat’s cabins.
“Quite often because you’re doing it from scratch, you’re just making it up – you might have an angle wrong,” he said.
“Originally one angle was 45 degrees, but it looked wrong so I changed it to 66 degrees which looked a lot more accurate.”
That level of accuracy means Mr Draeger had to break down parts of the construction once or twice before getting it right.
“The important thing is you learn from making mistakes,” he said.
“You never get it right the first time.”
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Having the plans provided by TT-Line certainly helped, but Mr Draeger still had to estimate the size of the finished ship, along with the base footprint and how tall the ship would be.
The full construction will be on display at Brixhibition next week, at the Albert Hall.
Mr Draeger said the entire goal of Brixhibition, both in its schools competition and the overall competition each year, was to encourage genuine creativity and imagination.
Rather than completing a Lego task with the instructions provided in a pre-made kit, competitors have to think outside the box and make something from scratch.
The Spirit of Tasmania replica model is one way to inspire new ideas and showcase what can be done with nothing more than ordinary Lego pieces.
Mr Draeger said he’ll next take the model up to Devonport, where TT-Line is keen to see it.
Brixhibition returns to the Albert Hall on Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22, showcasing the best of Northern Tasmania’s Lego enthusiasts.
Adult tickets to Brixhibition are $6, children $4, and a family $20.
